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Credit.Com understands the importance of protecting personal and credit information.
We rely on our relationship with you for the success of our business, and we understand
that ensuring the protection of your personal information is crucial in developing that
relationship.
Our goal is simple.
- To provide information concerning credit and credit products and services to Visitors, Users and Members (as defined below) to the Credit.Com website (the "Website").
- To determine what products and services offered by Credit.Com and its Subscribers may be of interest to Visitors, Users and Members.
- To help our Users and Members find and, in a secure fashion, apply for or order, credit products and services from Credit.Com and its Subscribers that meet the needs of the Users and Members.
In achieving our goals, we are sensitive to your privacy concerns, and are committed to
letting you know what information is being collected on our Website, how the information
is being used and what choices you have regarding the collection and use of the
information. Please take a moment to review this Privacy Notice, which describes our
privacy policy. Feel free to contact us at privacy@credit.com with any questions you may
have concerning this Privacy Notice or our privacy policy.
For ease of reference, in this Privacy Notice we will use the term "Subscribers" to refer
to third parties (unrelated to Credit.Com) who participate in our Website and whose
products and services are accessed via the Website or who otherwise use Credit.Com´s
Website technology and services.
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There are three categories of visitors to the Credit.Com Website from and about whom we
may collect information: (1) Visitors, (2) Users, and (3) Members.
A "Visitor" is anyone who accesses Credit.Com´s Website but who chooses not to become a
User or a Member.
A Visitor becomes a "User" (but not a Member) upon submitting to Credit.Com: (a) a request
for a product or service that we offer or that is offered by Subscribers, or (b) an
application for or information regarding any product or service that we offer or that is
offered by Subscribers. Once a Visitor becomes a User, that person will always remain a
User, but may opt out of receiving our e-newsletters and promotion communications by using
the procedures described in "Opt-out of Sharing and Communications".
A Visitor or a User becomes a "Member" by contracting with Credit.Com to enroll as a
Member in Credit.Com´s membership services offered through the Credit.Com Website. Click
Membership to view the benefits of membership. Once a Visitor or a User becomes a Member,
the Visitor or User will remain a Member until he or she terminates his or her enrollment
in the membership services Credit.Com provides via its Website. For a Member to opt out
of having us share with others the information we collect on the Member, and opt out of
receiving our e-newsletters and promotion communications, the Member must cancel his or
her enrollment as a Member in Credit.Com´s membership services by using the procedures
described in "Opt-out of Sharing and Communications". Once a Member ceases being a
Member, that person is treated as a Visitor, except that, unlike the normal Visitor, a
cancelled Member´s personal information continues to be stored with Credit.Com in the
event the Visitor decides to reinstate Membership.
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We collect no personal information about Visitors (that is, until they become Users or
Members). However, we do issue every Visitor a Visitor cookie (see "Cookies" below.) that
includes a Visitor ID. The cookies we issue will collect information that identifies each
Visitor´s habits while visiting our Website and the paths the Visitor takes while
navigating our Website. We track and store these Visitor cookies anonymously, so they are
not traceable to the Visitor´s personal identity (although they are traceable to the
Visitor´s Internet address). We collect the cookie information to help us better
understand what types of products, services and information we and Subscriber´s offer that
are of popular interest, to identify the number of times the same Visitor returns to our
Website and to identify the frequency of visits to the different pages of our Website. We
do not contact Visitors, send emails to Visitors or share any information concerning
Visitors with others, unless the Visitor chooses to become a User or a Member (see "Who do
we collect information on?" above for descriptions of Users and Members).
We also collect cookie information from Users and Members (see "Cookies" below.). In
addition, we collect certain personal and credit information from and about Users and
Members, as noted below. The primary reason we collect this personal and credit
information about Users and Members is to provide them access to products and services
that they request or order from us or Subscribers or that we believe they might be
interested in, and to enroll them as Members of our membership services if they choose to
become Members.
If a Visitor or a User chooses to enroll as a Member of Credit.Com´s membership services,
our system checks to see if a Visitor ID has been issued for the Visitor´s or User´s
computer, and then merges any associated information (including any cookie information)
into a profile we establish for the Member that essentially contains all the information
we have collected concerning that Member from the first time the Member visits our Website
(see the "Profile" section).
Below we explain the types of information we collect concerning Users and Members, and the
primary purposes for which we collect this information:
We collect, use and store Users. and Members. names, addresses, social security numbers,
and dates of birth to verify their identities, to enroll them as Members in Credit.Com´s
membership services, and to establish records of the transactions they request or enter
into via our Website. We require verification to protect unauthorized access to their
personal information, and to permit them to submit to us and Subscribers applications,
orders and requests for products and services. We also require verification to provide
Members with personal credit information they order from credit reporting agencies via our
Website.
- We collect, use and store billing information, such as credit card numbers, to process payments for the products and services Users and Members order via our Website, including products and services offered by Subscribers.
- We collect, use and store Information concerning city of birth and mother´s maiden name to verify User´s and Member´s identity in the event they forget their login or password information they need to access products and services from us or our Subscribers via our Website.
- We collect, use and store User´s and Member´s email addresses so we may send the Users and Members notifications, special offers for products and services and e-newsletters via electronic mail.
- We collect, use and store certain information provided by our Subscribers of credit products and services. This information may include the Member´s name and email address, whether the Member accepts or purchases the product or service from the Subscriber, the product or service the Member accepts or purchases (if any) from the Subscriber, and the date of the acceptance or purchase from the Subscriber.
- We collect, use and store information Users and Members submit via our Website to Subscribers and information those Subscribers provide us concerning their transactions with Users and Members that result from our Website.
- We reserve the right to share with and disclose to third parties all of the information concerning Members that we collect and store, as described above, including all nonpublic personal information. However, we will disclose this information only to Subscribers who offer products and services that we believe might be of interest to Members.
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By accepting Credit.Com´s privacy policy (as described in this Privacy Notice) each Visitor acknowledges and agrees to be bound by Credit.Com´s privacy policy.
By accepting Credit.Com´s privacy policy (as described in this Privacy Notice)
each User and Member (a) acknowledges and agrees to be bound by
Credit.Com´s privacy policy, (b) authorizes Credit.Com to
collect, use, and store on the User´s or Member´s behalf any information Credit.Com
collects from or about the User or Member that Credit.Com deems necessary or appropriate
to process the User´s or Member´s orders, requests or applications submitted to us or
Subscribers for specific products and services, (c) authorizes Credit.Com to share with
Subscribers and other third parties any information Credit.Com collects from or about the
User or Member for the purpose of providing the User or Member information concerning
products and services that Credit.Com believes might be of interest to the User or Member,
and (d) authorizes Credit.Com and Subscribers to process any applications, orders and
requests for products and services that the User or Member requests, orders or applies for
through the Credit.Com Website. Additionally, by accepting Credit.Com´s privacy
policy (as described in this Privacy Notice), each Member
acknowledges and agrees that when a credit report is necessary to process an application,
request or order a Member submits to us or Subscribers, that Member authorizes Credit.Com
to store, for and on behalf of that Member, within the profile Credit.Com maintains on
that Member (see the ´Profile´ section), the information obtained from the Member´s credit
report, for future use by Credit.Com.
The above authorizations may be revoked as described in "Opt-out of Sharing and Communications".
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While we do not share with third parties information concerning Visitors, we do share with
third parties information we collect from or about Users and Members. We may disclose any
of this information to Subscribers and our marketing partners. We may arrange to extend
offers of products or services to Users and Members either directly or through our
affiliates, or through unrelated third parties, when we think a product or service may be
of interest to the User or Member. Users and Members may opt out of this sharing as
described in "Opt-out of Sharing and Communications".
In addition, we may disclose all of the information we collect from or about Users and
Members (but not Visitors) to companies that perform services on our behalf or the User´s
or Member´s behalf, such as the credit reporting agencies from which we obtain credit
report(s), credit card processors, email communications management firms or call center
providers. We also may disclose personal information about Users and Members to
nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law.
Our Website may contain links to other websites for offers and services that we believe
might be of interest to Visitors, Users and Members. We believe these websites share a
similar commitment to consumer privacy and urge Visitors, Users and Members to review the
privacy policies of these websites when visiting them. We cannot, however, be responsible
for their privacy practices.
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We store information that we collect through forms, cookies, log files, clear gifs,
Subscribers and third parties to create a profile of our Users and Members. A profile is
stored information that we keep on individual Users and Members that detail their use of
our Website and the products and services they order from us and Subscribers via our
Website. Consequently, information we collect from or about Users and Members is tied to
the User´s and Member´s personally identifiable information to provide them offers,
improve the content of our Website and pre-populate future request, order and application
forms for the User or Member. We may use these profiles to identify, authenticate or
tailor a User´s or Member´s visit to our Website, and to direct pertinent marketing
promotions to them. We may share Users. and Member´s profiles and personally identifiable
information with other third parties. Additionally, we will securely store request, order
and application information (including credit reports, but only at the specific request of
the consumer) we receive from or about the User or Member for future access and in order
to better pre-qualify or identify the User and Member for potential credit products and
services offered by us and Subscribers that may be of interest to the User and Member.
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A cookie is a piece of data stored on the Visitor´s, User´s or Member´s computer that is
tied to information about the Visitor, User or Member. We may use both session ID cookies
and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once a Visitor, User or Member closes
his or her browser, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text
file stored on the hard drive of the Visitor´s, User´s or Member´s computer for an
extended period of time
A Visitor may use our Website even though the Visitor has set his or her computer´s
browser to reject cookies. The only drawback to rejecting cookies is that the Visitor
will be limited in some areas and services of our Website. See the ´Profile´ section.
A User or a Member may NOT order, apply for or request products or services from us or
Subscribers via the Website if the User or Member has set his or her computer´s browser to
reject cookies. Thus, for a User or a Member to access products or services offered by us
or Subscribers through our Website, the User or Member must set his or her computer or
browser´s to accept cookies.
Some of the companies that advertise on our Website or that offer products or services via
our Website may use cookies on our Website. However, we have no access to or control over
these cookies, once we have given permission for them to set cookies for advertising.
Consequently, this Privacy Notice covers the use of cookies by Credit.Com only and does
not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers or Subscribers.
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Ads of Subscribers and other third parties appearing on our Website may be delivered
directly to our Visitors, Users and Members by the Subscribers and other third parties.
Information about Visitor´s, User´s and Member´s visits to our Website, such as the number
of times they the viewed an ad or other personal information may be used to serve these
ads to Visitors, Users and Members.
This Privacy Notice covers the use of cookies by Credit.Com only and does not cover the
use of cookies by any advertisers or Subscribers.
Like most standard website servers, our Website server uses log files. This includes
internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP),
referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze
trends, administer our Website, track Visitor´s movement in the aggregate, and gather
broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. may be linked to
Visitor´s, User´s and Member´s personal information. We may use log files to analyze
Visitor, User and Member movement.
Credit.Com and Subscribers may employ, a software technology called clear gifs (a.k.a. Web
Beacons/Web Bugs), that help us better manage content on our Website by informing us what
content is effective or by tracking the completion of an application, request or order.
Clear gifs are tiny graphics - each with a unique identifier - similar in function to
cookies, and are used to track the online movements of our Visitors, Users and Members.
The main difference between the two is that clear gifs are invisible on the page and are
much smaller, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Clear gifs may be
tied to Visitor´s, User´s and Member´s personally identifiable information.
Clear Gifs can "work with" existing cookies on a computer if they are both from the same
website or advertising company. That means, for example, that if a person visited
"www.companyX.com", which uses an advertising company´s clear gif, the website or
advertising company would match the clear gif´s identifier and the advertising company´s
cookie ID number, to show the past online behavior for that computer. This collected
information would then be given to the advertising company or website.
In addition, we use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails have
been opened by the recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain
communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns.
We send all new Members a welcoming email to verify the Member´s email, user name and
password. Established Members will occasionally receive information on products, services,
special deals, and an e-newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our Users, we
provide them the option to not receive these types of communications; please see the
Opt-out of Sharing and Communications section.
On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement.
For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance or they have
submitted information that does not match their existing profile information, we might
send Users and Members an email to notify them of that. Generally, Users and Members may
not opt-out of these communications.
We send out confirmation emails whenever a User or Member submits a request, application
or an order. Generally, Users and Members may not opt-out of these communications.
Though we make every effort to preserve Visitor, User and Member privacy, we may need to
disclose personal information when required by law when we have a good-faith belief that
such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or
legal process served on our Website.
We share aggregated demographic information with product and service providers and
advertisers. This information is used when determining whether a potential Subscriber has
a product or service that would be of interest to our Visitors, Users or Members, or if
our Visitors, Users and Members are the type of customers the potential Subscriber is
looking for. However, this aggregated information does not contain any information that
may be associated with or tie to a Visitor´s, User´s or Member´s personally identifiable
information.
We use a credit card processing company to bill Users and Members for products and
services ordered through our Website. These companies may retain, share, store or use
personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.
Certain third parties and Subscribers may provide products or services through this
Website, for example credit reporting agencies, to provide specific services. When a User
or Member signs up for these particular services, we share the User´s or Member´s name, or
other contact information, including social security number, that is necessary for the
third party or Subscriber to provide its products or services to the User or Member.
These third parties and Subscribers may be permitted under the law to use the User´s or
Member´s personally identifiable information to promote their services.
In the event Credit.Com goes through a business transition, such as a merger, being
acquired by another company, or selling a portion of its assets, Visitor´s, User´s and
Member´s information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. Users
and Members will not necessarily be notified via email prior to a change of ownership or
control of their information, unless the information will be used in a manner
substantially different from that stated at the time of collection. If as a result of the
business transition, the Visitor´s, Users. and Member´s information will be used in a
manner substantially different from that stated at the time of collection, they will be
given choice consistent with our notification of changes section.
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Visitors, Users and Members have choices when it comes to learning about new offers or
services they can use to help meet their credit management goals. If a User or Member does
not wish to receive from Credit.Com or its affiliates emails or other marketing materials
from Credit.Com concerning products or services offered by Credit.Com or Subscribers, here
are the methods Users and Members may use to opt out of our emailing them marketing
communications:
There is nothing for Visitors to opt out of, since we do not deliver emails or marketing
materials to Visitors concerning products or services offered by Credit.Com or
Subscribers.
A User may opt out of receiving marketing-related communications from us at the same time
the User places an application, request or an order on the Credit.Com Website by simply
checking the opt out option just above the submit button on every application, request or
order form on our Website. Additionally, each email we send Users includes instructions
and an opt-out link. Or the User may opt out simply by emailing us at cancel@credit.com
and informing us in that email of the User´s name and email
address of record in our system.
Members opt-in to our information sharing policies as part of their membership. A Member may opt out of receiving communications from us only by
canceling their membership. To cancel membership, a Member may simply email us at
any time at cancel@credit.com and inform us in that email of
the Member´s name and email address of record in our system. If a Member cancels
membership, that former Member will become and be treated as a Visitor, except that,
unlike the normal Visitor, a cancelled Member´s personal information continues to be
stored with Credit.Com in the event the Visitor decides to reinstate Membership. This
means the Member will receive no email marketing materials from us until the Member
becomes a User or Member again. Also, if the former Member wishes to apply for or order
products or services from us or from Subscribers, the Member will be required to re-input
all information we previously maintained, to the extent needed to process the application
or order.
There is nothing for Visitors to opt out of, since we do not share Visitors. information
with third parties.
Our Users are given the opportunity to ´opt-out´ of having the personal information we
collect on them used for purposes not directly related to the particular product or
service the User requests from us or from a Subscriber. A User may opt out of receiving
marketing-related communications from us at the same time the User places an application,
request or an order on the Credit.Com Website by simply checking the opt out option just
above the submit button on every application, request or order form on our Website.
Additionally, each email we send Users includes instructions and an opt-out link. Or the
User may opt out simply by emailing us at cancel@credit.com
and informing us in that email of the User´s name and email address of record in our
system.
Members initially opt-in to our information sharing policies as part
of their membership. A Member may opt out of us collecting, storing and sharing the
Member´s personal information with others as described in this Privacy Notice only by
canceling the Member´s membership. To cancel membership, a Member may simply email us at
any time at cancel@credit.com and informing us in that email
of the Member´s name and email address of record in our system. If a Member cancels
membership, that former Member will become and be treated as a Visitor, except that,
unlike the normal Visitor, a cancelled Member´s personal information continues to be
stored with Credit.Com in the event the Visitor decides to reinstate Membership. This
means the Member will receive no email marketing materials from us until the Member
becomes a User or Member again. Also, if the former Member wishes to apply for or order
products or services from us or from Subscribers, the Member will be required to re-input
all information we previously maintained, to the extent needed to process the application
or order.
Our Website takes precautions to protect our Visitor´s, User´s and Member´s information.
When Visitors, Users or Members submit sensitive information via our Website, we strive
to protect the information both online and off-line.
When our registration/application/request/order forms ask Users or Members to enter
sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that
information is encrypted and is protected with the encryption software that we believe is
the standard in the industry - SSL. While a User or Member is on a secure page, such as
our order form, the "lock" icon on the bottom of Website browsers such as Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer indicates it is locked, as opposed to
un-locked, or open, when Users and Members are just ´surfing´ our Website.
We also strive to protect User and Member information off-line. All of our User´s and
Members. information, not just sensitive information, is restricted in our offices. Only
employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our billing
clerk or a customer service representative) are granted access to a User´s or Member´s
personal information. Our employees must use password-protected screen-savers when they
leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain access
to User and Member information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our
security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time new policies are
added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on
privacy, and what they can do to ensure our User´s and Member´s information is protected.
Finally, the servers we use to store personally identifiable information are in an
extremely secure environment.
If Visitors, Users or Members have any questions about the security at our Website, they
can send an email to security@credit.com.
In order for our Website to properly fulfill its goals, it is necessary for us to
supplement the information we receive with information from third party sources.
We may access a User´s or Member´s credit report(s) to: authenticate identity,
pre-qualify or approve the User or Member for credit cards or other credit products, or
deliver to the User or Member products or services ordered from us or from Subscribers
via our Website.
We use Verisign to verify a User´s or Member´s identity and address as part of our
information security and authentication procedures.
To enhance our ability to tailor our Website to a Member´s preference, we combine
information about requests and purchasing habits of Members with similar information from
Subscribers and other product and service providers, to create personalized User and
Member profiles (see the ´Profile´ section). When a User or Member submits a request or
makes a purchase, we collect and share that personal and demographic information with the
Subscribers the User or Member accesses.
We may purchase third party marketing data and add it to our existing database to better
target our advertising and provide pertinent offers we think our Users and Members would
be interested in. We use this information to enhance or overlay the
´profile´ of
individual Users and Members. This aggregate marketing data is therefore tied to the
User´s or Member´s personally identifiable information. See also the ´Profile´ Section.
If a User or Member wants to change their personally identifiable information (such as
zip code, phone, email or postal address), or if a User or Member no longer desires our
service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete User´s and Member´s personally
identifiable information. This can be done by emailing our Customer Support at
cs@credit.com.
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will make appropriate changes to this
Privacy Notice, which will always be accessible on the homepage, and other places we deem
appropriate. We suggest that our Visitors, Users and Members visit our Privacy Notice
pages each time they visit our Website so they will be aware of our most current policy on
what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we
disclose it. We will typically use information in accordance with the privacy policy in
effect when the information was collected.
If, however, we intend to use User´s or Member´s personal information in a manner
substantially different from that stated at the time of collection, we will notify the
Users and Members via email of the changes in our privacy practices. If Users and Members
do not want us to use their information in this different manner, the Users or Members
may opt out or cancel membership as described in the "Opt-out of Sharing and
Communications" section of this Privacy Notice. In addition, if we make any material
changes in our privacy practices that affect the way we use User´s or Member´s information
already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Website notifying
them of the change and we will also email Users and Members notifying them of the changes
in our privacy practices.
If Visitors, Users or Members of Credit.Com have any questions or suggestions regarding
this Privacy Notice, our privacy policy, please contact us at:
Telephone: 415-901-1550
Fax: 415-901-1568
Email: privacy@credit.com
Credit.Com, Inc.
690 5th Street
San Francisco, CA
94107
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